We really can use more letters of support, they mean a lot in the review process. Please consider sending us one. And thanks to those of you that already have. Best, Will
On Fri, Jun 8, 2018 at 11:06 AM Will Schroeder <will.schroe...@kitware.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > *Dear VTK Community-Kitware is submitting a VTK development grant proposal > to the NIH in early July, and we’d like you to send us a letter of support > for that proposal. This four year proposal aims to make significant > improvements to VTK including rendering enhancements (VR and AR), better > support for the web (such as VTK.js), improved data integration (supporting > deep learning systems and federated, distributed databases, for example), > and updated mechanisms for community support (improving the software and > contribution process, documentation).We are very excited about the proposal > since it will make a very positive impact on VTK, its community, and the > many applications that use VTK. Several years ago we received a similar > award and were able to revamp our rendering support (OpenGL), improve our > software processes, and lay the foundation for VTK.js (among other > achievements). Now, we can really use your help with our follow-on > proposal. Part of the strategy of our proposal is to demonstrate to the > reviewers that VTK plays a critical part in medical innovation. Along this > line, we want to hear from the developers and users of VTK, so that they > can indicate their support for VTK and our proposal.If you’d like to help, > we have included three example letters. Please modify one of them to fit > your circumstances, copy it to your letterhead, sign it, and then send it > (a scanned pdf is fine) directly to me by June 30. These letters in no way > obligate you or your employer, they simply state “VTK is great and > important to my work.” Also, don’t worry if you are not doing biomedical > research, we want to hear from everybody. Note that this information (i.e., > the names of endorsers) is considered private, only the writers of the VTK > proposal and the NIH review team will see this information.If you have any > questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly. Thanks and > we hope to hear from you (by June 30). Feel free to forward this to friends > and family.Sincerely,Will SchroederStephen AylwardKen MartinExample support > letters follow:Example 1=========Dr. Ken MartinKitware, Inc.28 Corporate > DriveClifton Park, NY 12065, USADear Dr. Martin,I am writing to indicate my > support for your NIH proposal for the continued development of VTK. The VTK > standards and software are absolutely critical to my lab, the ___ Lab at > ___ University, and to my collaborators around the world. Even as we speak, > I am working on a project involving complex visualizations using 3D Slicer, > Osirix, ParaView, and ITKSnap (which are largely built on VTK). Several of > my students also use VTK software libraries to write customized user > interfaces and visualizations for my scientific and clinical collaborators. > Our most recent application was for a physiologist who wanted to explore > very specialized data related to the movement of the tongue in speech after > glossectomy surgery.There are many worthy software projects under > development around the world, but very few who can claim to be > foundational. VTK can claim this, and I'm certain it can claim to be at the > core of hundreds of software products that will be used by many biomedical > researchers and thousands more that will be developed and used in-house. > The complexity of visualization tasks has continued to grow with the volume > of data and its connections across scales and from anatomy to function and > from individuals to populations. VTK is keeping up with the demand—leading > the rest, in fact—and should be a high priority for continued > funding.Example 2=========Dr. William J. SchroederKitware, Inc.28 Corporate > DriveClifton Park, NY 12065, USADear Dr. Schroeder,I enthusiastically > endorse your proposed effort to support and improve VTK. We use this open > source software in our work and have found it extremely helpful as we > create new technological solutions. We have developed a software > application that is currently being used by around the world for scientific > data visualization to gain new insights. Your Visualization Toolkit has > provided the software tools needed to develop that application that has > satisfied the needs of a very diverse customer base. We definitely would be > interested in your proposed VR/AR enhancements and improved integration > with web services. VTK fills a vital role in the international community’s > scientific computing infrastructure; additional developments along the > lines that you propose will certainly accelerate innovation.Example > 3=========Dr. Stephen R. AylwardKitware, Inc.101 East Weaver St, Ste > G4Carrboro, NC 27510, USADear Dr. Aylward,I am writing in ardent support > of your NIH proposal to continue the development, enhancement, and > dissemination of the Visualization Toolkit (VTK). Not only do I use it in > several projects myself, but I have found that it fosters the dissemination > and extension of research by allowing the community to efficiently > reproduce research, to easily combine contributions in unexpected ways, and > to transfer research into production. Developing and maintaining a project > as large and complex as VTK while fostering such an active community is a > breathtaking achievement, and I hope Kitware obtains the funding it needs > to keep this work up. * > > > -- > William J. Schroeder, PhD > Kitware, Inc. - Building the World's Technical Computing Software > 28 Corporate Drive > Clifton Park, NY 12065 > will.schroe...@kitware.com > http://www.kitware.com > (518) 881-4902 > -- William J. Schroeder, PhD Kitware, Inc. - Building the World's Technical Computing Software 28 Corporate Drive Clifton Park, NY 12065 will.schroe...@kitware.com http://www.kitware.com (518) 881-4902
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